Today we see a report by someone named "Bloch" through Admiral Richardson at Pearl Harbor to Admiral Stark, CNO in Washington.
Who is this Bloch, and is this the report that got Richardson fired?
Please note Bloch's specific discussion of the threat of carrier born aircraft attacking Pearl Harbor, not the Philippines.
So the whole suggestion that somehow the Navy considered a carrier attack on Pearl Harbor "impossible" or "inconceivable" is just not right.
Obviously Bloch and Richardson considered the threat serious enough to require upgrading Pearl's defenses.
Admiral Claude Bloch, commander of the Fourteenth Naval District.(Hawaii)
Admiral Claude Charles Bloch was the Commandant of the 14th Naval District which encompassed the facility and Navy yard at Pearl Harbor.
While Richardson is responsible for the U.S. Fleet, Bloch is responsible for the fleet stationed at Pearl.
I have a copy of the Bloch memo, but didn’t post it because it is really hard to read. It does go into detail as to air defenses and particularly the number of 3” guns firing rounds with 21 second fuses. Unfortunately the nature of the actual attack would make these useless even if they were supplied in sufficient numbers. I think the Navy understood the risks with Pearl, but I don’t think the fully understood what to do about it. Bloch’s memo itself talks of the obsolete Army bombers (B-18 Bolos) at Pearl that would be used for attacking the enemy fleet. At this time they still have not come to terms with just how difficult it is to hit a ship with a high altitude bomber.
Let me know if you want me to post the whole memo. It’s hard to read, but I’ll throw it on this thread tomorrow if you are interested.